Alumni spotlight

Rider Daas, MBS ’20

Rider Daas, MBS ’20, knew he wanted to be a dentist when he first shadowed his stepfather in the clinic as a teen. “I really liked how dentistry allows you to work with your hands and, in a way, create art. It’s very detail-oriented work and that appealed to me,” he said.

Today, he is a dental student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, and he credits his Geisinger Master of Biomedical Sciences degree with getting him there.

“As an undergraduate at Washington and Jefferson University, I had to learn how to learn,” he said. “When I graduated, I knew I had to show that I had what it takes to handle the workload of dental school.”

A college friend was entering Geisinger Commonwealth as a medical student and told Rider about the MBS program. “I chose Geisinger because of the accelerated one-year program. I knew it would help me show that I’d mastered the ability to manage the demands of studying, taking tests and juggling a full schedule.” Rider’s instincts were correct. He said that, as a dental student, he finds the challenge similar to his experience in the MBS program — and he knows how to deal with the rigor.

“That’s the biggest thing I took from Geisinger,” he said. “Mastering the workload. I see some of my classmates struggling now with the pace, so it’s something I’m very grateful for.”